NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-09-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

NPR News: 02-09-2025 12AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump is back in Washington, pursuing major policy changes on his own terms. We know from the past that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against the status quo. NPR is covering it all with Trump's Terms, a podcast where we curate stories about the 47th president with a focus on how he is upending the way Washington works. Listen to Trump's Term terms from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Federal workers will have the rest of the weekend to consider a Trump administration proposal that they resign now, but be paid through September.

As Frank Morris of Member Station KCUI reports, four out of five federal workers live outside the D.C. area. In Kansas City, the federal government is by far the largest employer with close to 30,000 employees, including for the IRS, EPA, and Social Security Administration. Elon Musk is trying to slash the federal workforce. He's targeting an immediate 10% cut. Economist Frank Link, with the Mid-America Regional Council, says that in Kansas City, that would be almost as bad as losing a major auto assembly

plant. Overall, for every federal job, there's another job created in the metro. So they're powerful jobs from that standpoint. The buyout offer is tied up in court, at least until Monday. For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City. More than 180 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been freed from Israeli jails in exchange for three more Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday morning. As NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports, the release is part of a fragile ceasefire deal that is

now entering its fourth week. Seven of the Palestinians freed into the Israeli-occupied West Bank were rushed to the hospital upon release, according to the Red Crescent. One had injuries from what a Red Crescent spokesperson described as a severe beating, while others were treated for malnourishment and fatigue. Earlier, Israel condemned the condition of the three Israeli hostages released today, who appeared frail and malnourished.

This weekend's hostage for prisoner exchange is the first since President Trump floated a plan to have the U.S. take over Gaza and relocate the nearly 2 million Palestinians there elsewhere, a plan Palestinians, as well as many regional and world leaders, rejected. Talks for the next phase of the ceasefire are set to begin this weekend. Kat Lansdorf, Ampere News, Tel Aviv. Leaders of a group of European right-wing and far-right party ASEB in praising President Trump this weekend at a gathering in the Spanish capital of Madrid.

The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Trump's return to the White House was seismic for the global order. Here's Orbán speaking through a BBC interpreter. The Trump tornado has changed the world in just a few weeks, and era has ended. Yesterday we were their heretics, today we are the mainstream. The event convened leaders from the Patriots of Europe group which is the third largest in the European Parliament. The National Weather Service says a winter storm is bringing as much as a foot of snow to

upstate New York and New England at this moment. Snow is already falling in New York, where travel conditions are becoming treacherous in some areas. Weather officials say the storm is moving quickly, and snow should stop on Sunday. A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain, meanwhile, is hitting the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic region. You're listening to NPR News. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the Caribbean south of the Cayman Islands today.

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center issued advisories for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but those advisories have now been cancelled, and officials say there is no threat to the U.S. mainland. The Super Bowl, which takes place on Sunday, is always a high security event, but this year even more so following a terrorist attack just five weeks ago in the host city of New Orleans. Steve Futterman has more on that story. In the early hours of January 1st, 14 people were killed when a man drove a pickup truck

down Bourbon Street, still jammed with celebrants. Officials say security has been increased and adjusted. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was here in New Orleans this week. We have a big event coming and we are committed to having a safe environment for every individual that attends. Adrienne Owen lives here and says it's hard to miss the security. They've got helicopters flying, they've got patrol boats, they've got park rangers, you name it they've got it. And on game day everyone entering the stadium will be required to go through a security check. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Thomas Detrie holds a five-shot

lead heading into the final round of the Phoenix Open this weekend. He shot a 6 under 65 today after birdieing four of the first five holes. He finished the day with a 19-foot putt for par on the 18th hole. Four golfers including Jordan Spieth are tied for second at 13 under par. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. par. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.